Behind The Flame (DISCONTINUED)
by TheGirlThereReading
Summary: They had a flame, the Sirens. 5 Crazy Godlings. All ten of them. They all glowed different colors. They all flickered different ways. But they all had flames and there was something hidden behind each one. (Complete summary inside) Rated T in case. Co-authored with TheGirlThereWriting. Disclaimer: everything that's not ours is Uncle Rick's. Characters kinda OC.
1. o n e

**Hey Guys! I am ****_finally_**** back. Well sorta. This is the only story I will be updating cause I don't know what I'm gonna do with the others.**

**This story is co-authored between me and SwimDanceMusicRead Jazz.**

**I put prologue and the first chapter together since the prologue is really short.**

**We'll be updating every Friday. **

Summary:

The Sirens are a worldwide famous band. Their rival: 5 Crazy Godlings. It doesn't exactly help when they have awkward relationships. And when they have to live together.

**So, setting the stage:**

**The Sirens:**

Manager: Tristan McLean

Assistant Manager: Mellie

Frontman: Annabeth Chase

Electric Guitar: Thalia Grace

Bass Guitar: Hazel Levesque

Piano: Piper McLean

Drums: Calypso

Costume Designer/ Stylist: Olivia Johnson

**5 Crazy Godlings:**

Manager: Grover Underwood

Assistant Manager: Gleeson Hedge

Frontman: Percy Jackson

Electric Guitar: Luke Castellan

Bass Guitar: Frank Zhang

Piano: Jason Grace

Drums: Leo Valdez

Costume Designer/ Stylist: Juniper

**Enjoy! :)**

Prologue:

*flashforward*

They walked on stage one after the other. The crowd went wild.

The lights at the foot of the stage only lit up their feet.

All five of them had skinny jeans.

Pink. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue.

Heels. Flats. Toms. Wedges. Boots.

That's all the crowd could see.

They stood in a line, their backs to the audience.

Annabeth's voice rang through the stadium.

_Baby when they look up at the sky…_

*flashback*

-iii-

**Chapter 1**

**Percy POV**

We stood as Grover grabbed his office bag and Juniper searched for purse.

"Come on, Grover! Where are we going?" Jason pestered.

Grover and Juniper had plans for us to move to LA, instead of staying in San Fran. But, I never expected that change to happen so quickly.

Luke walked up to us after stuffing his cell phone in his pocket. "Come on, they have our bags ready."

We followed inside behind Luke. From each of our small backpacks, we grabbed a cap and sunglasses. Not the best disguises, I know, but we needed something at the very least. Leo thought that we were doing the cha-cha-cha, and put his hands on Frank's shoulder.

"One-two-three-and kick!" Leo repeated over and over again. Frank turned his head and glared at him.

Leo put his hands up immediately. "Sorry, big guy."

Frank replied gruffly, "Don't do that, Valdez."

"Yes, sirree. I sure will!" Leo exclaimed.

"Leo." Frank said calmly. "Shut up."

"Oh, right."

"So mature, aren't you guys?" Luke said rolling his eyes.

We got our luggage and started outside. Grover searched for a taxi while we waited.

Jason and Leo were thumb wrestling, Luke was talking to Juniper and Frank was drumming his fingers against his suitcase. I sat on a bench, humming my under my breath. We started to get impatient, just after a minute. Leo's fingers were a blur, Jason's foot was tapping uncontrollably, Luke's left eye was twitching and I just kept wringing my hands and pacing.

We all had ADHD and dyslexia . Except Frank. He's just lactose intolerant.

It took too long until we finally got into a taxi big enough for five disguised rock stars, their manager and their stylist.

We pestered Grover until he finally told us.

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you, okay? You guys can't start arguing with me when I do, understand?" Grover instructed and we bobbed our heads in unison.

"You guys know who the Sirens are, right?" He asked.

Leo started bouncing on his seat. "You mean the band with Annabeth-" I winced. "-and Piper-" Jason looked uncomfortable. "-and Hazel-" Frank looked down a blush creeping up his neck. "-and Thalia-" Luke visibly flinched. "-and-" Leo stopped bouncing and sank into his seat. "-and Calypso." His voice was a whisper.

Grover sensed the discomfort and looked anywhere but us. "We'regonnabelivingwiththemintheOlympianEstate."

"What?" Frank asked.

Grover took a deep breath. He spoke slowly flinching with every word. "We're going to let be with them in the Olympian Estate."

There was a moment of silence.

Then all hell broke loose into the taxi.

Frank and Jason started sputtering and spitting, Leo was sitting still, shocked, Luke's leg was bouncing in full speed, and in the rear view mirror, I saw my eye twitching.

Luke was the first to speak. "Grover, you know about everything, so why in the world would you choose the only place where we are never ever going to be welcome?"

Grover was red in the face, abashed. "Ummm, well you see the thing is, uh, Tristan McLean, like their manager, me and him have been planning this for months."

"And you didn't bother to tell us any of this?" It surprised me that Frank was yelling, too. For the years I've known him, the guy's never yelled. Well other than the time where Leo got ahold of the matchbox and almost burned down the dining table. The poor boy's deathly scared of fire.

Grover's face was purple now. "I just felt like that if I told you guys, well, this would happen."

I rolled my eyes. "That's a lame excuse, Grover! If you had told us before, our anger would have actually been less angry. We would have time to get used to the idea." My frustration grew with every word.

Leo, who had been silent with shock for the past few minutes finally spoke. "You tell us now? Really, dude. You know how much the girls hate us for multiple reasons. Tristan probably already told them and they probably are already finding a way so they won't have to see us. "

Grovers face finally returned to its normal state. "Look guys. I'm sorry. I should've told you before but I guess I was afraid. But it's kinda too late now." He looked outside the window. We were pulling into one of the ten driveways of a humongous mansion.

Grover looked at us and attempted a smile. It looked more like a grimace. "We're here."

-iii-

**So... like it?**

**We know it's not much but it's just Chapter 1**

**The rest will be longer.**

**Promise.**

**So until next week!**

**The Girl There Reading**

**SwimDanceMusicRead Jazz**

-iii-


	2. t w o

**Hey Guys! So it's Chapter 2! We literally finished it today. Sorry if it seems a little rushed. Enjoy!**

-iii-

**Jason POV**

Back at the Olympian Estate. Oh, how bittersweet. I stood before the doors I never thought I would walk through ever again. My hand was grasped around the door's handle. I took in a breath, and shoved the French doors open.

I walked in and almost died of breathlessness.

It was huge. I'd never been downstairs for the month I'd lived there.

It was perfect. Greek with a touch of Roman. Athena had really outdone herself.

And she must love stairs.

There were six staircases. You could see all three floors of the house. Since we were in the threshold the ceiling was three stories high. A crystal chandelier hung at the very top. Two staircases that led to the second floor were at the two walls left and right. Two more were from the second floor to the third. The last two were right in the middle, curved around a crystal fountain leading to the the third floor from the first. Each set were decorated differently with intricate designs etched in the pure white marble.

Five women came rushing out from different hallways. All wore purple and black. Each grabbed our stuff and ran back down the hallways. That was new.

"Hey!" Leo called out. "Who are you guys? Where are you taking my stuff? Wait! I didn't get your number!"

He would have burst into the chorus of Call Me Maybe by Piper McLean, my Piper, if we hadn't been interrupted.

I heard the click of high heels against the glossy floor. The first thought that came to me along with a rush of disgust was Drew.

I looked to see that the high heels were not Drew's. Instead I saw a girl about 5' 6" wearing black skinny jeans, a navy cami and a teal and pink plaid shirt that hung open with the sleeves rolled up. Her hair was in a high ponytail that swung as she walked. Her silver hoops as big as my palm contrasted with the black of her hair and her bright hazel eyes.

"Hi!" She said cheerfully. "I'm Olivia Johnson, stylist costume designer person for The Sirens. I'll be your tour person for today." She spoke quickly.

"You have servants?" Leo asked casually.

Olivia turned her piercing gaze towards him. "As a matter of fact we don't."

"Then-"

"Who were they?" She interrupted. "Helpers. They are not servants, they work on their own time, get to live here for free as part of the job and they get paid five hundred dollars everyday."

Leo looked at her blankly like he didn't understand one thing she had said. He probably didn't.

"Anyway," she said, emphasizing the anyway. "I'm going to take you on a tour. We won't go into the first floor because you don't have any business there."

"Why-"

"That's where the kitchen, laundry and Helpers' quarters are. You have no business there. Anyway, we will be touring the second and third floor. The second floor has-"

"Why are you so short?" Percy blurted. Realizing it was rude he clamped his hand over his mouth.

Olivia glared at him. " Why do you think I wear six inch heels? Anyway, on-"

"How do you walk in those?" Luke asked. Olivia walked towards him and stepped on his foot. Hard.

"OW!" Luke yelled and started hopping on one foot, holding the other.

"Anyway-"

"Olivia?" Olivia looked like she was about to stab somebody when her eyes landed on who was calling her.

Juniper. She was 5 Crazy Godlings stylist costume designer person like Olivia was to The Sirens. She was wearing a pale green dress that complimented her redwood curls and pale brown skin. Her eyes were a leaf green and she had colorful plastic bangles all over her arms. Unlike Olivia, Juniper was actually 5' 6" and was wearing dark green high top converse.

"Juni!"

They rushed to greet each other, hugging and talking really fast that their conversation was inaudible. I was guessing it was along the lines of fashion and clothes and all the stuff Juniper always goes on and on about.

It was crazy how bored Juniper got in a house full of guys. She talked so much that we knew never ever ever to wear stripes with plaid.

Like, come on! It's common knowledge. Juniper had drilled that into our brains.

Percy spoke up. "Um, Olivia, do you mind continuing our tour?" He gingerly tapped her shoulder, then quickly stepped back.

"Oh, I'm sorry that you guys kept interrupting me." Olivia shot back crossly, before brightening. "Juni, would you like to join us?"

Juniper sighed. "I wish I could, but I have to set up the boys' chambers." Then under her breath, though everyone heard her, "More like fix their ridiculous wardrobe."

Olivia snorted as we sputtered. "I'd like to see the before and after." We glared at them both, before Juniper waved goodbye and fluttered off.

Why do I have such an advanced vocabulary? Oh right, I'm supposed to be the smart one. Or is that Frank? No he's the shy one. And then Percy's supposedly the hot one. Who thought of that? And Leo, obviously, is the funny one. Or as I put it, the idiot. And then Luke's the bipolar one. And I mean that in the best way possible. Like one day he's the most polite person in the world and then he goes and hurts my sister.

I don't even know what that's about. I just know Thalia had anger problems.

"Jason. JASON! EARTH TO JASON ARE YOU IN THERE?" Leo rapped on my forehead.

I turned to him, annoyed. "What do you want, Leo?"

Leo put his hands up in defense. "Chill, bruh. You're the one Olivia wants. She's waiting upstairs! You've been daydreaming for, like, the last ten years."

I rolled my eyes. "Leo, we haven't even been here for an entire hour. Stop exaggerating!"

Leo's eyes grew wide. "Or maybe, we have been frozen in time for ten years and the girls kept us this way and-and-uh-"

I interrupted. "Just lead me to where we're supposed to be."

Huffing, Leo whined. "Fine, BOSSY PANTS!"

**Leo POV**

I wanted to go to our rooms first but Olivia wanted to show us the other rooms first.

"...and this is the Mirror Room," she was saying.

I looked up. "Why-"

"Do you ever shut up? You'll see! Just wait!" She groaned then sighed. She put a smile back on her face and pushed open the door.

I could see why it was called the Mirror Room. It was shaped like a pentagon and all five walls were mirrors. Even the door.

In the center of the room were five vanities placed in a pentagon so if you walked around them you would see all five. The girls were all dressed casually in t-shirts with leggings or shorts.

Thalia was at her vanity which was just across from the door. She didn't use her surname, Grace, because she was ashamed of her mother. She was redoing the electric blue highlights in her hair.

Annabeth Chase's vanity was to the left of Thalia. She had the bottom drawer of her vanity open and it was to the brim with books of all different sizes. It made me dizzy. She was sorting them all out.

Next to Annabeth's was Piper McLean's vanity. Her father was their manager. She was sorting through her bracelets, trying them and then taking them off, indecisive.

Next to her was Calypso, as beautiful as always. She, like Thalia, never used her last name. She was dancing. Gods, she could dance. She was the choreographer for the Sirens.

All four of them were singing backup to Hazel Levesque.

Oh gods, Hazel.

She was standing on the ottoman by her vanity, singing. Her hairbrush was in her hand and she was using it as a mic. She was flipping her hair, doing body rolls and all that crazy ish.

"Who is she and what has she done with Hazel Levesque," Percy whispered.

I nodded, too stunned to speak. The Hazel I knew was the quiet girl from New Orleans who almost fainted when someone said gosh darn. The girl who'd first fallen for Sammy Valdez before mysteriously disappearing.

Sammy couldn't help but feel the guilt of Hazel's disappearance. Ashamed, he'd changed his name. Changed his name to Leo.

Only Hazel knew that Sammy and Leo were the same person.

But this Hazel?

I didn't know her.

Her voice was loud and echoed throughout the Mirror Room.

_Say that you're a baller and I see you tryna' holla but that ain't how I was brought up._

_Next._

_Workin' for the money 'cause that's what my momma taught me so you're ass better show me some respect._

_Mm, boss, Michelle Obama. Purse so heavy getting Oprah dollars._

_Mm, boss Mich-_

Thalia saw us first through the mirror of her vanity. Her electric blue eyes starting crackling and it felt like they were staring into my soul.

Then Hazel noticed. She quietly jumped off the ottoman and placed her hairbrush on her vanity.

Thalia made eye contact with Annabeth who slammed the drawer of her vanity shut.

Piper jumped, startled, then realizing what was going on, turned off the lights of her vanity.

Calypso stopped dancing when the singing stopped. She looked confused for a minute then her eyes met mine. She glared at me, and the memories flooded back to my mind. Oh, my Sunshine.

Thalia dropped her dyer and yanked out the plug. The lights in the room flickered for a second.

Single file, the five of them stalked out of the room. Thalia accidentally-on-purpose stepped on Luke's foot.

He winced but otherwise made no sign of hurt.

They entered a room near the end of the hallway, slamming the door shut.

Olivia's smile slid off her face. "Um, okay, that was a bad idea, uh, anyway, this is the Mirror Room and it's where-"

She was cut off by a loud thud and angry voices.

Olivia stuttered. "Uh, just, um, give me a sec, okay?" She rushed off, not waiting for an answer. She turned on her heel, facing us once more. "Don't touch anything."

Another thud and growl was heard. Olivia flinched, quickly clicking her heels towards the door.

She opened the door. A knife came whizzing out at top speed and barely missing the top of Olivia's head and stuck onto the wall.

"THALIA!" She scolded. She, after a little difficulty, yanked the knife out of the wall and stormed into the room. Annabeth kicked the door closed. We flinched.

Even from where we were standing we could hear their conversation.

"Look, Thalia, I know you're angry by-" Olivia was interrupted by Thalia's voice that scared the hell out of me.

"Why didn't you tell us?" She said angrily.

"I- I thought you knew. Didn't Tristan tell you?" She sounded confused.

Piper spoke with her teeth clenched. "My father didn't tell us anything."

"Oh, well, I just found out right before the tour. It-it's not my fault." You could practically hear the fear in her voice.

"Why are they here anyway?" Annabeth asked angrily.

"Uh- they're going to live here."

There was a moment of silence. Poor Olivia, having to face the girls wrath that Grover faced when he told us.

I couldn't make out what anyone was saying anymore. It was all pure chaos.

"SHUT UP!" Hazel's voice surprised me. I still couldn't get over how much she had changed.

"Calypso, stop hyperventilating. You're turning red. Piper, you are not beating up your father. Annabeth, you're going to bring down the wall of you don't stop and Thalia put that _down_, you are _not_ jumping off the roof _again_." Hazel was panting.

Wait- jump of the roof _again_?

Olivia mirrored our surprise. "Again?" She asked in a quiet voice.

Hazel spoke. "I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?"

There was silence then Thalia sighed. "It's Olivia. I'll tell her. Umm, a few months ago there was a girl and she met a guy she really really didn't like on the street and they got into a fight and the girl went home and kinda-sorta got drunk and was on the roof and jumped off. Of course she would have died if there hadn't been a pool behind her really big house and her friend found her and dragged her out if the pool. The end."

I noticed Luke's face was red.

"You've jumped off a roof before?" Olivia asked.

Thalia didn't respond.

"Okay, uh, I have to get back to the tour so, try not to break anything else." Olivia hesitated, then walked out of the room.

"Apparently, they _didn't_ know," Olivia muttered.

She turned back to us and put on a false smile. "So we're going to have to cut the tour short. It's not that big really. You can find your way around. Your rooms are here. They've been customized to your liking." She pointed to a hallway on the left. "The girls are on the right. At the very end of the hallway is your common room where you five can meet up. The big room is where you get dressed for concerts and stuff. Kinda like the Mirror Room except it's not as mirror-y. The room here in the center is the central common room where all ten of you can meet up. There's a huge TV, a mini kitchen with a huge ice cream bar and shelves of movies. My room, along with Tristan, Grover, Juniper, Silena, Drew and Beckendorf's are on the second floor. Dinner will be at seven. If you can't find your way to the dining room, call for help to anyone."

"Wait." I put my hands in a time-out sign. "My _brother_ lives here?"

"Who, Beckendorf?" She shook her head. "No. Him, Silena and Drew just visit so often they have there own rooms."

She turned as if she was going to leave then turned back. "Oh, and _don't_ flirt with the Helpers and _don't_ treat them like servants. Hope you like it here!" She smiled brightly and walked down the hallway towards the elevators.

The door of the room the girls were in flung open and Annabeth, Piper and Calypso walked into the elevator. Hazel and Thalia stopped in front of Olivia. They were both holding severely damaged guitars.

"Uh, Olivia?" Thalia said, not looking towards us guys. "We need new guitars."

"You smashed your guitars?" Olivia looked bored as if this were an everyday occurrence.

"Yeah, but Hazel being the _idiot_ she is smashed her actual guitar. _Mine_ was just a backup."

"Hey!" She mocked hurt but I could see her eyes shining.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Okay, if you tell me how you want the guitar to look we can order a new one for you," she told Hazel.

Hazel gasped. "I can customize it? Yes! Should I get the same black background? Ooh, or should be gold? Yes I like gold. And then-" She was cut off by the elevator doors closing.

Olivia sighed and looked at us. "And one more thing. Do _not_ mess with the girls."

"Believe me Olivia," Luke said quietly. "We know."

**So? How was it? **

**The song was _BO$$ _by Fifth Harmony**

**Review Please!**

**TheGirlThereReading**

**SwimDanceMusicRead Jazz**


	3. t h r e e

**Percy POV**

After settling into our rooms, which, by the way, were super cool and customized to our liking, we headed to dinner.

The five of us went to the dining room together. When we reached, our mouths dropped wide open at the sight. The dining room was two stories tall, with a wide screen TV and a pile of movies. The light shining down was a simple crystal chandelier. The dining table seated fourteen people. There were six chairs along the length the table, and two on the ends.

We seated ourselves along one side, leaving one seat for Grover. The girls came down the steps, glaring at each one of us in turn. We put our heads down, averting their cold gazes.

Thalia walked past us, glaring at us and avoiding Luke's eye. Calypso stared me down, but I quickly looked away. When passing Leo, she glared at the back of his head as he glared at his food. Hazel just kept her gaze straight ahead, and accidentally looked at Frank when passing him. Piper almost punched and he whimpered. She smirked. Annabeth actually punched me and left a big red mark on the upper part of my arm.

Grover and Juniper walked down the steps, discussing band matters that I didn't hear very clearly. They brightened when they saw the girls, but in return they sulked. The smiles slid off their faces slowly.

At the top of the stairs, we saw Tristan. Or, perhaps, he could only see half of us. He stumbled down the steps, clutching the railing. He missed a step, and rolled down the rest of the staircase.

After stabling himself, Tristan strolled towards the seat next to Olivia at the head of the table.

"Hello, boys!" Tristan said cheerfully. Well, as cheerfully as he could when half his face was purple and black.

The girls were still glaring, and I think Leo just peed in his pants.

Tristan cleared his throat and flinched under Thalia's gaze.

I could tell that Tristan had a fatherly gentleness with all the girls. But that didn't explain why Tristan had a black eye which was starting now to swell.

Thalia now was starting to smirk, and I could see the movements of a fist pump under the table.

Olivia stepped on Hazel's foot. I guess I wasn't the only one that noticed the small gestures.

"OH MY GODS, OLIVIA! What the _hell_ was that for?" Hazel yelped and cradled her foot.

Wait.

_ HELL?!_

My gods, Hazel had changed.

Interrupting my thoughts, Olivia scolded the girls. "That was for giving, oh, YOUR FATHER, Piper, and, YOUR MANAGER, a black eye.

Four of us gawked at the girls and Olivia, while Luke kept his head down and slowly ate his pasta.

"Olivia, I didn't _do_ that!" Hazel protested. "Although I did agree." She muttered under her breath.

Olivia turned to Piper, raising an eyebrow. "You punched your own dad?" She asked.

"No," Piper said innocently. "Thalia beat me to it."

Everyone looked at Thalia. Olivia looked like she wanted to punch her now.

Thalia shrugged. "He was asking for it." I noticed her knuckles were cracked and bleeding.

"You had absolutely _no_ right to punch your ma-" Olivia started yelling at Thalia which seemed a little weird considering she was only fifteen while Thalia was eighteen.

Thalia interrupted her, her voice even louder. "_I_ had no right? He didn't even bother to tell us that these horrible idiots were coming! He of all people knows how much we _loathe_ them!"

I know I should have felt a bit hurt at being called a 'horrible idiot' but we all knew we were.

Piper stood up now and looked at her father who hadn't sat down yet.

"She's right dad, you can't not tell us just because you know would have made a run for it. At least Grover had the _decency_ to tell them! Why can't you be more like him?"

I didn't feel the need to point out that Grover had only told us on the way here.

"Gods Tristan, just because you're our manager doesn't mean you can lie to us!" Annabeth's eyes were swirling in the way it had three years ago when she had left.

Calypso stood up as Tristan opened his mouth to speak. "Don't you _dare_ think of firing us. You know how much it would affect your reputation. Now we wouldn't want that would we?" She said the last part mockingly.

Hazel rose. "This is _sick_." She looked like she wanted to add something but then thought better of it and turned to leave.

"Now you stop right there, young lady." I've never seen Tristan ever angry but right now his face was contorted with anger. "Yes, I'm your manager. Yes, I cannot afford to lose you girls. Yes, I have cut you all slack when you're rude. But _this_? And in front of people who are going to live here? I think not, girls." Tristan started, folding his arms and staring straight at them.

Piper interrupted before he could say anymore. "My gods, dad! Shut _up_! For _once_, stop telling us what to do. I have my own mind and I just turned 16! I don't need your protection anymore. In fact, just leave me _alone_."

Tristan started again, furious by the end of Piper's rant. "Piper Aurora McLe-"

He couldn't even finish her name. All five of them were gone.

Tristan's anger melted off his face into sadness and exhaustion. He slumped into his chair and picked at his food. "I'm such a horrible father. And manager. And person in general."

Olivia on the other hand looked about ready to burst. She put a hand on his shoulder. "No, you're not," she said as calmly as she could, but I recognized the frustration on her face. "Tristan, you need to knock some sense into them, otherwise they'll think it's alright to that anytime." She advised him comfortingly.

Tristan took a deep breath and smiled shakily at Olivia. "Thank you, Olivia." He then turned to us. "Sorry about that. The girls, well, they're not going to adjust to this change quickly. If you give them some time they'll be fine. We'll try this again tomorrow. I'll see you guys at breakfast." He got up and walked out of the room.

Olivia seemed at a loss of words. She was sputtering then gave up and stormed out.

Juniper chased after her and Grover followed after saying goodnight.

The five of us stared at the table, silent. I left my food cold and stared across the table at the girls' dinners.

Sighing, I left to my room without a word.

-iii-

_She walked out of the building, biting her lip and trying not to let the tears spill out of her golden eyes._

_ He'd rejected her. Said she was too young, too naïve. Her voice wasn't yet developed. She wasn't good enough. She wasn't worth his money, his time. _

_ One of the biggest music producers had rejected her. Zeus had been just like the other four. _

_ She was done. Her music career was over before it even started. _

_ The door opened behind her and she turned. The girl had short, black, spiky hair and eyeliner around her electric blue eyes. Her punk clothes and the silver bracelets on her arms immediately shot a red flag for her. She preferred avoiding people like that. _

_ But this was different. This was Thalia Grace, Zeus' daughter. For a moment she felt a spark of hope. _

_ "Th-Thalia Grace?" The brown-haired girls asked, pushing the curls out of her face and quickly wiping at her eyes. _

_ Thalia flinched. "I don't go by Grace. It's just Thalia. You're Hazel Levesque, right?"_

_ Hazel nodded quickly. "Yes,"_

_ "Oh, well I just wanted to tell you, I heard you're recording. It's really good. Zeus is jerk. He didn't even accept me. He practically disowned me when a I asked him to represent me."_

_ Hazel frowned. "He rejected his own daughter?"_

_ Thalia shrugged. "Me and my brother. At least he said Jason could try a couple years later. He just kicked me out. Literally."_

_ "Then- uh, I don't mean to be rude but why are you here now?" Hazel stuttered, afraid that she might offend Thalia in some way and she might punch her. _

_ "I realized Jason, my little brother, was actually alive. I thought he died at birth. Turns out, another reason Zeus kicked me out was so he could let Jason live with him." She looked at Hazel with a look that made her want to crawl into a ball and hide. "Anyway, the real reason I came out here was not to tell my life story. I wanted to tell you that after Zeus didn't accept me so I went to look to someone who would. I asked a few friends and found Tristan McLean. He's amazing, really. He accepted Annabeth Chase. You know, the daughter of Athena Chase, the architect?"_

_ "Annabeth Chase? Really?" Hazel asked._

_ "Yeah. And he accepted his daughter, Piper, unlike some people." She glared at her father's building behind her. _

_ Well obviously be accepted Piper, she was his daughter so she could really sing. _

_ "He also accepted Calypso. She doesn't go by her last name either. I don't blame her though. Her father is Atlas Titan."_

_ "Atlas?" Atlas Titan was the worst person you could have to produce your music. He acted all nice and lured you in. He said you could have anything but the moment you're alone with him he uses you and threatens you and bribes you and you can't do anything about it. He places the weight of the sky on your shoulders. _

_ Artemis, Thalia's older sister, almost fell for it along with Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson and even Calypso herself. _

_ Thalia nodded. "The point is, I think you should audition for Tristan. He's super nice and completely honest. He isn't a jerk either."_

_ Hazel gawked at the girl in front of her. "Audition for Tristan? But I obviously suck if I've been rejected by five producers already. Why would Tr-"_

_ "Hazel. I told you already. You're amazing at singing. That's why I went through all of the trouble of telling you. You'd be perfect. Try." Thalia interrupted. _

_ Hazel hesitated. "O- Okay." She tried for a smile. "Wh- Why not?"_

_ Thalia smiled. "Good." She reached into the pocket of her leather jacket and pulled out a business card. "Here. Call him and schedule an audition."_

_ Hazel took the card in her hand. Tristan McLean's name was written in straight bold letters with his email and number underneath. _

_ "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me." Hazel felt tears spring back into her eyes but this time, of joy. _

_ "Don't thank me yet." Thalia winked. "Go kick some ass."_

_ She walked across the street whistling to the song Hazel had auditioned with: _Work of Art.

_ Hazel smiled slightly to herself. She couldn't believe it. Finally, an opportunity. _

_ She made two mental notes to herself. She would be prepared this time. And she would keep clear of Thalia. She preferred 'clean' lyrics._

_ Little did she know, things were going to be much more exhilarating. _

-iii-

**Luke POV**

I woke up the next morning to birds chirping with a smile on my face.

Yeah, right.

It was definitely memorable that I met the Sirens, again. Most of all, I met Thalia- my first and last love.

After showering and brushing my teeth, I went down for breakfast in the dining room.

As I walked down the steps, I heard voices coming from the room.

"Thalia, don't do something you'll regret," Annabeth warned.

"Trust me, slapping them one by one is something I will never regret." At the sound of Thalia's voice angry, I flinched.

"Control yourself. They'll be down any minute now!" Hazel scolded.

Footsteps echoed down the steps behind me. I turned, finding Percy and Frank standing behind me.

"Luke, why are you waiting here?" Percy whispered.

"Just waiting for you guys." I lied casually.

Frank looked at me with concern, and I felt my face redden. Thankfully, no one noticed.

Jason and Leo walked down the stairs hurriedly.

Jason said quietly, "Let's just get this over with."

I walked into the room following the rest of the guys. Everyone else was already seated at the same places they were last night.

"Morning, boys," Tristan said cheerfully.

We all mumbled our replies before sitting down.

We ate in silence except for Juniper and Olivia talking super fast and Grover and Tristan talking about our next concert.

Breakfast passed slowly as everybody ate. Finally, Thalia said something. I didn't look at her as she spoke to Jason, who was sitting next to me.

"So, little brother, how's it going? It's been how long? Two years? No, three years since you broke Piper's heart?" She said it so casually you would think we were a happy group of friends discussing our plans for the weekend.

It was once like that. That was so long ago.

Jason's blue eyes grew darker and stormier. Before he could say anything, Thalia spoke again.

"What? You feel bad? Aw, my poor whittle bwother feewls bad." She said mockingly, before continuing. Her face grew serious. "A little too late for that."

Leo laughed nervously and slowly unclenched Jason's hand. "Uh, so, Hazel! You've changed." He paused then quickly added. "I mean that in the best way possible of course."

Hazel rested her elbow on the table. "Yeah." She smiled at Leo and even though her face was bright with genuine happiness I could see the hurt in her eyes. I should know. I've hurt a girl before. That was one of my biggest mistakes.

"I used to be that quiet girl from New Orleans with a haunting past and then there was the whole thing with Sammy but-" She stopped talking and looked at Leo, who avoided her gaze. Tears welled up in her eyes. When she continued, her voice trembled and the smile was forced. "Uh, I've been hanging out with Thalia a lot. She's the one who got me to audition for Tristan after Zeus rejected me."

"My dad rejected you?" Jason asked.

Before Hazel could reply, Thalia cut in. "How _could_ you?"

Jason looked confused. "What?"

"How can you even consider him as your father?" Her voice trembled so slightly that only I could hear it.

"He is my dad and he's yours too so-"

Thalia stood up suddenly and her chair scratched against the polished floor.

"No he's _not_. Zeus Grace is _not_ my father. He may be my birth dad but he is _not_ my father. I am a parentless girl and I _will_ be till the day I die." Her blue eyes were crackling in that familiar way that usually meant I'd messed up.

Jason stood up. "You know what? I don't care. You can live your life without a father or a mother and I-"

"THERE IS NO MOTHER! You don't even know do you? And you say you care." Thalia's eyes were shining with tears and I knew it wasn't for sympathy for Beryl Grace.

"What do you mean there's no mother?" Jason asked quietly.

"SHE'S _DEAD_, YOU IDIOT! WHAT KIND OF CARING SON _ARE_ YOU?"

Jason stumbled backwards into his chair. "Dead?"

He got up dazed, looked at Thalia, and then turned to walk out the door shaking his head.

Piper beat him to it and stormed out of the room followed by Annabeth, Calypso and Hazel.

Thalia got up. I thought she was going to walk out too but then her shadow loomed over me.

I looked up and met her eyes. She smiled in a hurt sort of way. There was no happiness in that smile.

The glint of her knife caught my eyes as she took it out of her belt and pressed it into her palm.

And then I wasn't there anymore.

We were at the café, on our first date. She'd taken the knife that was in the chocolate cake and pressed it into her palm.

Then we were at the park, on the bench. Her birthday gift, the knife, was in her hand. The blade cut into her palm.

We were outside the theater. Our last actual date. She was crying, tears streaming down her face. The blood dripped from her palm on her jeans.

We were in the alley, two months ago. We'd ran into each other. It was pouring and her eyeliner was dripping down her face. Her knife cut into her palm.

And I was back in the dining room, and here she stood in front of me, the blade pressed into her palm. I watched the blood drip down her hand and fall off her fingertips.

And she said the same thing she had said all those times. The same nine words.

"I just wanted to see if this was real."

She walked out, not meeting the gaze of anyone except mine.

It felt like everything was moving in slow motion, sounding like murmurs instead of the clear sound of the real world.

_"I just wanted to see if this was real."_

-iii-

_The Latino walked out of St. Agnes Academy for Colored Children and Indians. He looked around and his warm brown landed on the golden-eyed girl._

_ Rufus was at it again. Bullying the poor African-American girl for the precious stones her mother had._

_ "I'm sorry." The cinnamon-haired girl's voice was so soft that the boy could barely hear it. "I- I don't have anything. Sorry."_

_ "What about your lunch, Witch Girl? Your little mommy put some diamonds in your sandwich?"_

_ The girl cowered. "No," she whispered._

_ The boy shook his head. She _had_ to learn to stand up for herself._

_ He walked over to where the two were. "Hold on there," he said loudly. "What's all this? Why are you talking on my set? I've told you Mister Cooper, you do not flirt with Miss Lamar! She is already taken, isn't that right?"_

_ Hazel smiled. "Oh, Sammy," She whispered._

_ Rufus glared at Sammy. "Valdez, I am going to-"_

_ "It's alright, Mister Cooper. It _is_ rather hard not to flirt with her. Believe me, I know." He smiled cheekily at her. _

_ She turned red._

_ Rufus stormed towards him and aimed a punch at his gut but he ducked out of the way and shook his head._

_ "Now, now, no violence on my watch."_

_ He skipped away to Hazel and picked her lunch off the ground. he presented it to her dramatically. "Your lunch, Miss Lamar."_

_ She blushed and took it out of his hand. "Thanks Sammy." She said. "I don't know what I would do without you."_

_ He smiled, trying to push down the blush creeping up his neck. "Anything for you."_

_ The two walked away towards their usual spot under the tree hand in hand. _

_ Sammy leaned in and kissed her cheek turning both of them red._

_ "Don't worry Hazel. No matter what happens, I'll always be there."_

_ He didn't know then that it was an empty promise. A promise he could never keep._

-iii-

**Hey guys! We will have flashbacks like the couple you saw in this chapter. **

**The song in this chapter mentioned in Hazel's flashback was ****_Work of Art_**** by Demi Lovato. It was from ****_Sonny With a Chance_****. **

**Oh, and be sure to check out ****_Behind The Flame: The Music Videos. _****We started that today so you can check that out. It will list all the songs that will be in this story.**

**Oh, and plz plz review if you view it.**

**Thanks!**

**SwimDanceMusicRead Jazz**

**TheGirlThereReading**


	4. f o u r

**Luke POV**

Juniper stood in front of us later that day.

"Really, guys? The first full day is not even over, yet you already made Thalia mad?" She scowled.

"Juniper, we didn't _try_ to make her mad, it just happened." Jason protested.

That sounded lame to my ears. No matter how many excuses there were, Thalia always knew what we meant.

"You're going to go over to the girls in the mirror room, and apologize. Do you understand?" Juniper instructed, her face set in a calculating gaze.

Leo opened his mouth to say something, but under Juniper's stern look, he closed his mouth sullenly.

Frank lead us to the Mirror Room. We could hear music playing from inside. Percy knocked hesitantly, and after a moment, he opened the door.

Music blasted in our ears for a new song.

The room was still the mirror room but it no longer had the five vanities. Without the tables the room looked so much bigger. I realized that the music was a karaoke and the girls were singing along with it.

Calypso's back was to us and she didn't see us in the mirror. The other four were facing Calypso. They were following her dance moves. Gods, she could dance.

_[Piper]_

_Ohhhhh ohhhhh ohh_  
_Ohhhhh ohhhhh ohhh_  
_Ohhhhh ohhhhh ohhh_  
_Calypso, they ain't ready for this_  
_Hazel, they ain't ready for this_  
_Annabeth, they ain't ready for this_  
_Piper. Thalia, The Sirens, yeah_

_[Thalia:]_  
_Don't go and waste your precious time_  
_With all the nonsense on your mind, no_

_[Hazel:]_  
_Don't criticize yourself no more_  
_You got a smile worth fighting for_

_Yeah you got everything with your perfect porcelain_  
_Ain't no one compare to it_  
_You just gotta remind yourself_

_[Annabeth:]_  
_That you're amazing, babe_  
_You're breaking down in every way_  
_Could be smiling every day_

_[Lauren:]_  
_Just gotta remind yourself_

_[Chorus -All:]_  
_[Calypso] You can dance like Beyoncé_  
_[Piper] You can shake like Shakira_  
_[Annabeth] 'Cause you're brave, yeah, you're fearless_  
_And you're beautiful, you're beautiful_  
_[Hazel] Go wild like Rihanna_  
_[Thalia] Go and pose like Madonna_  
_[Annabeth] 'Cause you're brave, yeah, you're honest_  
_And you're beautiful, you're beautiful_

_[Piper:]_  
_You sell out every stadium, ohh_  
_And the crowd goes crazy when you're done_

_[Annabeth:]_  
_Don't know how beautiful you are, uhhh, yeah, yeah_  
_You deserve your hollywood Hollywood star_

_[Hazel:]_  
_Yeah, you got everything with your perfect porcelain_  
_Ain't no one compa-_

Hazel cut off when her eyes met mine.

"What?" Calypso asked confused.

"Uh- nothing." Hazel smiled slightly at Leo's expression of Calypso. I closed his gaping mouth but it just popped open again.

I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, from the chorus. 5, 6, 7, 8!" Calypso started dancing again and the girls followed. By now, everyone but Calypso knew we were watching.

_[Chorus -All:]_  
_You can dance like Beyoncé_  
_You can shake like Shakira_  
_'Cause you're brave, yeah, you're fearless_  
_And you're beautiful, you're beautiful_  
_So whine like Rihanna_  
_Go and pose like Madonna_  
_'Cause you're brave, yeah, you're honest_  
_And you're beautiful, you're beautiful_

_[Piper:]_  
_You sell out every stadium, ohh_  
_And the crowd goes crazy when you're done_

_[Annabeth:]_  
_Don't know how beautiful you are, uhhh, yeah, yeah_  
_You deserve your hollywood Hollywood star_

_[Hazel:]_  
_Yeah, you got everything with your perfect porcelain_  
_Ain't no one compare to it_

_[Thalia:]_  
_You just gotta remind yourself_

_[Annabeth:]_  
_That you're amazing, babe_  
_You're breaking down in every way_  
_Could be smiling every day_  
_Just gotta remind yourself_

_[Chorus -All:]_  
_You can dance like Beyoncé_  
_You can shake like Shakira_  
_'Cause you're brave, yeah, you're fearless_  
_And you're beautiful, you're beautiful_  
_So whine like Rihanna_  
_Go and pose like Madonna_  
_'Cause you're brave, yeah, you're honest_  
_And you're beautiful, you're beautiful_

_[All:]_  
_Hey, yo, Reyna, bring that back_

And then Reyna appeared out of nowhere. Reyna Avila Ramirez- Arellano. She'd changed since the last time I'd seen her. She used to be an employee at C. C.'s Spa along with her sister, Hylla.

Hylla was now a leader of a girl band full of girls completely against males. They toured the world recruiting girls and managing Amazon. They deliver packages to your door in an hour since they have branches everywhere.

Reyna was now a solo artist. She goes by RARA and sometimes was the opening act during Sirens concerts.

_[Reyna:]_  
_Shake it, shake it, sha-_

"Oh, shit." Jason's voice echoed through the room and the music stopped. All six girls turned to us.

Jason turned red.

Reyna looked annoyed. "What?"

"When did you get here," Jason asked quietly.

She narrowed her eyes. "Why do you care? You never did before."

"Uh, it was just, uh," he stuttered.

Frank leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Shut up."

Jason shut up.

Reyna rolled her eyes. "Well, if it even matters to you, the six of us are going on a girls' day. Sorry. You can't come." She pouted and traced a finger down her cheek like a tear. "You don't deserve it."

She turned and stalked out of the room.

Calypso stared for a second at Leo before and then turned, her cheeks burning. "Come on, girls."

"Wait!" Leo turned red and clamped a hand over his mouth.

Calypso raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, we came to apologize. I- we're sorry for the outburst at breakfast. We didn't mean to make you guys angry again." He smiled in a way I'd never seen him smile. Almost as if he was shy.

Calypso smiled slightly then tried to cover it up quickly. "Oh. Well, apology accepted." She looked at the other girls. "Let's go. We can't keep Reyna waiting." She glared at Jason when she said Reyna's name, before walking out.

Hazel looked at Frank and smiled shyly. Frank blushed furiously and smiled back. They were honestly the cutest couple ever. They were the only couple that had never really had any bad history. The problem was that they have never actually been together before.

Hazel grabbed her (backup) guitar and strummed chords as she strolled out.

I realized Percy was drooling. I bumped his shoulder. "Dude," I whispered. "Close your mouth. You're drooling."

He wiped at his mouth quickly and closed it.

Annabeth laughed lightly. We all looked at her and she covered her mouth. "Looks like you don't just drool in your sleep. You drool all the time." Even though her voice was light, I could sense the pain I'd learned to look for.

Percy turned red and smiled, embarrassed, as he wiped his palms on his pants. I realized he was nervous. I smiled inside. All these were perfect and I knew they would all end up together eventually. Except for me and Thalia. That was completely over no matter how much I told myself she would forgive me. That she would forget forever.

Annabeth walked out of the room, a giddy smile on her face.

Piper looked at her friend smiling but when she turned to Jason it melted off her face.

"Pipes, I-" Jason started.

"Save it," she snapped. "I'm not in the mood for your crap." She turned and stormed out of the room.

Thalia glared at her little brother and then turned to her name.

"Thalia." Hazel peeked her head into the room. "Come on, the car's leaving." She smirked. "Callie's driving."

Thalia's eyes widened. "No she's not! I am!"

Hazel grinned and turned her head so her hair flowed downwards. "Then hurry up! I call shotgun!" She ran out before Thalia could protest.

Percy turned. "Come on, guys." He looked at Thalia. "Later, Pinecone Face." He smiled lopsidedly.

Thalia glared at him in a nice sort of way. Or as nice as it gets with Thalia. "Get out before I beat your ass, Kelp Head!"

He waved his hand lazily as he walked out, while Thalia scoffed and rolled her eyes.

As soon as I realized that all the guys were gone, my stomach had butterflies and I wanted to leave but it felt like my feet were planted to the floor. My mouth was shut and I couldn't say anything.

Thalia looked over at me. I tried to look away, but something in her eyes made me stay.

She walked slowly towards me.

When she reached me, her eyes crackled, but with something different. I couldn't place it.

She stood on her tiptoes till she was almost at eye level.

She brought up her hand and put it on my shoulder.

Her other hand went to my neck.

She leaned into me, her lips reaching mine. Both her hands went around my neck.

After a moment's hesitation I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her back. Our lips met together, filling me with warmth.

She pulled back, but I still held her in my arms. Her eyes softened to a sky blue as she looked at me, but she tried to hide her smile.

I released her slowly and she took a step back.

"I just wanted to see if this was real."

And she walked away.

-iii-

_"Annab-" _

_ "No!" He watched the tears stream down her beautiful face. Her grey eyes were cloudy. "Just shut up! You've done enough damage! First you lure me in like you actually love me and then leave without telling me. When you come back two weeks later I find out you've been hanging out with another girl! Do you even care?"_

_ "Wise Girl, ple-" _

_ "Don't call me that." Her voice was hoarse from yelling and her golden curls were strewn across her face. _

_ It was at times like these, when he just wanted to hold her in his arms and feel her warmth. The feeling of pain overcame him and he could feel the tears gathering in his eyes. _

_ "Annabeth, I need to explain, plea-"_

_ "You don't get it, do you? I've trusted you, I've given you my complete love, but you've just been splitting yourself between me and the other girl you're with! You sicken me, Percy Jackson." Her voice was filled with hurt and disdain. _

_ He took her hands in his, and opened his mouth to plead with her, but Annabeth spoke first. _

_ "Let go of me, you jerk!" She spat at him, pulling her hands from his. She pulled herself up from the bench they were sitting at. _

_ She turned and started to walk away. _

_ But she came back after a moment of hesitation. Percy was still on the bench, holding in the tears. _

_ Annabeth tilted her head down, and kissed him._

_ "I loved you, Percy Jackson. Loved you."_

_ She turned back around, tears slipping out of her closed eyes. _

_ Percy Jackson had shattered her heart. _

_ She'd shattered his in return._

_ One last kiss. _

_ One last touch. _

_ One last moment. _

_ One last love._

_-_iii-

***cues tears***

**Believe me, I cried too.**

**So we know that's short but it's so we don't take the focus of the- *cries* -flashback. So sad. );**

_**Anyway, **_**the song in this chapter was ****_Brave Honest Beautiful _****by Fifth Harmony.**

**Until next week,**

**SwimDanceMusicRead Jazz**

**TheGirlThereReading**


	5. Chapter 5

**Percy POV**

The next morning I stepped into the dining room a little more cheerful. I had a feeling today was going to be a good day.

The rest of the guys were already seated with the girls.

I sat down. "Sorry, guys. I got, um, distracted." I smiled slightly, averting my gaze from Annabeth.

"It's fine," Piper said. She and Thalia were the only girls that actually talked to me. "It's fine. We're going to work after breakfast."

"Work?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Hazel said, her voice confident but her eyes slightly pained as she looked at Leo. "I design Aphrodite's jewelry, Piper models and does fashion shows, Annabeth plays minor parts in movies, Thalia stars as a special guest in weight loss programs and Calypso teaches dance classes." She shrugged. "We all decided to work today. So we'll only be back after lunch."

"Oh." Leo looked at Hazel as if he couldn't believe she was alive.

Olivia appeared at the door. "Hey guys. Girls, your ride is outside. Come quickly."

"Yeah," Calypso said. "C'mon girls."

"Where's Reyna?" Jason blurted, his face slightly red.

Piper clenched her teeth. "She left last night. She said to tell you to go to hell."

Jason sank down in his seat under Piper's very cold glare.

The girls got up and left. I looked around. "So, what do you guys want to do while the girls are gone?"

Frank shrugged. "Write?"

"What? Poetry?" Leo asked.

Frank rolled his eyes. "No, idiot. Songs."

Luke nodded. "We could do that. Let's go up to the room with our instruments."

I finished the rest of my (blue) pancakes and followed the guys out.

-iii-

**Piper POV**

I walked out of the mirror room after getting ready, and linked arms with my sisters. All three of us had dip-dyed our hair pink and were dressed in our mother's new clothes line, _¡Pink! _

We were going to do a fashion show at a little seven-year-old girl's birthday party. Apparently, she loved pink.

Silena Beauregard was the oldest of us three and had warm blue eyes and wavy black hair. She was dating Leo's older brother Charles Beckendorf. Everyone called him Beckendorf except Silena who called him Charlie. She was a full time model and was on the covers of many fashion magazines.

Drew Tanaka used to be a jerk but eventually became really sweet like Silena. Well at least to everyone who lived in this house (excluding the guys). She was also a model for Aphrodite full-time but also designed her own clothes. Silena and Drew had recently created their own clothes line, _Forever_. She had straight black hair and brown eyes that can turn from welcoming to cruel in a second.

The rest of the girls were already in the car.

We were about to walk out the door that led to the driveway when we ran into the guys.

I heard Drew suck in her breath.

"Jason..." She hissed out of closed lips.

Even from a few feet away, I knew that Jason was stiff. He was uncomfortable with Drew's presence.

Not that _I_ cared.

I smiled slightly and then shook it off as soon as I realized I did. "Come on, girls! It's time to meet the guys."

Drew scowled as Silena walked ahead.

"Hey!" Silena said cheerfully. "You guys look so much better in person. Gods, cameras these days. But who am I to talk? I'm a model!" She laughed sincerely. "You must be Leo." She shook Leo's outstretched hand. "If you're anything like your brother I'll _love_ you!"

Leo shook her hand uncomfortably. "Yeah, uh, I've never actually met Beckendorf."

Silena drew back as if he'd just told her he wore stripes with plaid. "Omigods. You have got to meet him! He's visiting day after tomorrow."

Leo smiled. "Okay."

"Drew," Jason spat.

Drew looked away awkwardly.

I looked between the two of them. "Uh, you guys know each other?"

Drew turned red. "I may have kinda been obsessed with him once upon a time."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course. I should have known." I turned to Jason. _Gods_, I hate him. "She's not that creepy obsessive girl anymore. She's much better really."

Jason didn't look so sure. Drew groaned. "Let's go girls. If he doesn't want to believe us that's his problem."

I nodded. Silena shrugged. The three of us headed to the car.

-iii-

_It was all his fault. He shouldn't have taken the stupid diamond. _

_ He could have saved her life, let her live._

_They were supposed to have grown up together. He could have been all heroic and saved her from the bullies._

_ He could have comforted her when she was afraid of her mother._

_ He could have saved her._

_She could have lived._

_It was all his fault._

_The beautiful golden-eyed girl had died._

_And it was all his fault._

_He'd never forgive himself for it. He can't live with the guilt._

_He'd change his name. He would no longer be Sammy Valdez, class clown. _

_He'd stay a Valdez, for the sake of his deceased mother._

_But he can no longer be Sammy. No, he'd be someone else._

_He would still make jokes but they would no longer be for pure bliss. They would be to hide the pain. Humor to hide the guilt._

_He would no longer be Sammy Valdez._

_He would be Leo. Yes, that would be good._

_He is now Leo. _

_Forever and always, Leo Valdez._

-iii-

**Frank POV**

I stood in the room, my bass in hand, my mind blank.

We had everything. The whole band, food, instruments.

No, we were missing inspiration.

I set down my guitar. "I got nothing."

Percy sighed. "Me too."

Jason closed his eyes, massaging his forehead. "We're screwed."

Leo sat at his drum set, tapping steadily on the cymbal again and again and again. Suddenly, he jumped up and smacked his drumsticks on the cymbals so hard the noise rang in my ears.

"Dude," Luke mumbled.

"Sorry." Leo looked around. "You guys are gonna hate this idea but it's all I got."

"What?" Luke asked, draining his water bottle.

"We'll split ourselves between the girls. Just hang out with them."

Luke choked on his water. "Are you crazy?"

Leo shrugged. "Probably."

"If I go with Thalia, I won't come back alive!" He looked scared. Honestly, I don't blame him.

"I know. That's why we go with the girl that doesn't hate us."

Percy considered the idea. "So you go with Hazel?"

Leo looked at me. "Yeah. No one else can stand me."

I used to be jealous that maybe Hazel would turn me down for Leo but now I knew that wasn't the case. Leo was head over heels about Calypso.

I nodded. "Then I'm with Thalia." I was actually the only guy who could talk to Thalia without her threatening to beat me up. And besides, she was actually easy to talk to.

Percy looked around. "I guess I'll go to a fashion show with Piper." He looked at Jason, who was glaring at him. "Hooray." His voice wasn't enthusiastic.

"I get Annabeth." Luke said. He seemed okay with that.

Jason looked at us wide-eyed. "I have Calypso."

Leo Looked at his best friend. "Don't get any ideas, bro."

Jason nodded. "I won't."

I took a drink of water. "Well then. Let's get inspired."

-iii-

Leo POV

Percy dropped me off in front of _Aphrodite Co._ first in his blue Maserati. The building was like seventeen floors high.

I gulped and walked in. The butterflies were eating me inside out. I didn't like Hazel in that way, but she was one of my best friends.

The moment I walked in a girl ran up to me, smiling widely. "Leo Valdez! What brings you here!"

"Um, I was wondering if Hazel was here. I was bored so I came to see her. None of her friends can stand me."

"Oh." She seemed a little disappointed that there wasn't anything going on between Hazel and me.

"She's on the third floor." She smiled at gestured towards an elevator.

"Thanks." I went in and let the elevator take me upwards.

When the doors opened I realized the whole floor was one huge room. There were six tables that extended through the whole room all lined up side by side. They were all empty except for one. My legs felt like lead as I walked through the halls.

I recognized the cinnamon curls tied back with a bandana at the fourth table. She was bent over a bunch of stones and beads and strings. She was wearing gold, silver and black aztec print leggings, a black shirt with way too long sleeves and her signature toms.

I went and sat in the empty seat next to her. "Hey."

She looked up startled. She looked around and realized no one else was there except the two of us. She looked up at me and her eyes welled up with tears. "Sammy," She whispered.

I swallowed and tried to keep from crying. I smiled sadly. "Why, hello Miss Lamar. I see you've given up acting with Mr. Cooper."

The tears streamed down her face and I immediately felt bad. I quietly folded my arms around her. "Hey, don't cry."

"Where'd you go off to? I thought you were dead," I asked her gently.

"I went looking for true love but the moment I thought I found it, I got lost again." She buried herself in my arms. "I got marooned on an island in Alaska. My mother died there and I think I did too. Then I appeared in California and found out I have a brother. Nico helped me find a home, find friends. I went back to New Orleans to look for you and- and they said you had died. The nuns at St. Agnes said it had been my fault. It probably was all my fault any of this happened."

I pulled back and I lifted her chin. "Hazel, it's- it's okay. I'm back!" I tried to lift her spirits.

She met my eyes and sighed shakily. "Everything always seems to be okay. But, Sammy isn't."

I looked everywhere except in her direction. "Sammy and Leo. Leo and Sammy. Hazel, we're the same."

"I hope so. I didn't want to change you, Sa- Leo."

"I know. I'll always know, Miss Lamar!" I tried to lift her spirits again.

"You'll always know, Leo. And so will Sammy."

I smiled brightly at her and I could feel the weight of the world leave my shoulders.

My heart soared.

"Because Miss Lamar, you left before you could collect your paycheck." I reached into my pocket and took out a diamond, small enough to fit in my palm.

She gasped and looked up at me. "You kept it?"

"My dear, Hazel. It was all I had left of you." I brought back the saddened humor in my voice.

Her tears kept pouring. "Don't do that. You- you sound too much like you used to."

"Then I won't. There's no use anyway. Sammy's dead."

She shook her head. "No. No Sammy's alive. Sammy's sitting in front of me. You just said so."

"No, Hazel. Sammy's dead. I- I was trying to make you feel better. Besides, if Sammy were alive, where would Frank be? And Calypso? I love Calypso as much as you love Frank." It was the first those words had come out of my mouth for Calypso. I ignored the redness in my face.

I hesitated, then took both of her hands in mine. "You have no idea how much Sammy loved you." It felt weird talking about myself in third person. Then I remembered; I am not Sammy. I'm Leo.

"You know," she said pulling herself away from me and wiping her eyes with her shirt sleeves. "While I was gone, I realized, there's no such thing as automatic true love or love at first sight. Love only becomes true when you make it true and we- we never had that chance."

I smiled at her. "You're right. There is no such thing as that. And I know we'll never have that. Honestly, though, I'm fine with that. And we can still be friends, right?"

She laughed. A real laugh that made me smile. "Of course, _my treacherous darling_."

I laughed with her. "Guess some things never change."

"Yeah. I'm glad about that. Now, if you don't mind, I've got to get back to work."

I rubbed my palms together. "Great. How can I help? I need inspiration. That's why I'm here actually."

"Inspiration? Well, I got nothing, but you can help me create beads with theses stones. You're good with fire right?"

"Good?" I looked at her, eyes twinkling. "Darling, I'm amazing with fire. I am fire."

She laughed and I laughed too. It was nice to be back to normal.

-iii-

Thalia POV

I sat in front of the mirror in the room labeled Special Guest. I was wearing a light blue tank top that said Don't Wait For It and my black shorts with my favorite blue sneakers. It was my third time appearing on The Biggest Loser, but the first time this season. I was going on in five minutes.

I loved being on the show, making people work out and lose weight and yelling at the guys to stop flirting with me. Everyone respected me and loved me. There was absolutely no reason to be nervous.

Except one.

But that didn't matter.

I got up and started doing stretches and jogging in place, trying to get rid of the butterflies in my stomach.

Suddenly the door opened and I straightened. The manager of the show entered. He was a tall man, 6' 3", and always wore a business suit. He made me feel short.

I mean, I am short, I'm 5' 1", but no need to rub it in.

"Thalia! You're going to have to share the spotlight today. A young man is going to be on the show with you!" He said rather loudly. I froze in place.

My stomach twisted at the words 'young man'. It's not who you think it is, I told myself.

I forced myself to smile. "Really? Who?"

A guy came from behind the manager and just by his build I could tell it wasn't _him_. It was a huge chinese guy with the build of a sumo wrestler. He was wearing a grey tank top and navy blue basketball shorts with spotless white sneakers. "Frank?" I sighed, relieved. The knot in my stomach loosened.

"Oh, great! You guys know each other! You're on in three." He left, closing the door behind him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, gesturing for him to sit down.

He sat on one of the stools and sighed. "The guys and I got bored. We were trying to write a song but we had no inspiration at all. Then, Leo had this crazy idea that we split up and go to different girls and since no other guys are exactly on good terms with their, um, exes, we went to the one girl that can tolerate us."

"Oh." I looked up at him. He was intimidatingly tall. "Well none of us hate you. You're too sweet and adorable. Kind of like an over-stuffed teddy bear. And besides, you've never hurt Hazel or any girl for the matter."

He looked at me as if he were trying not to laugh. "Over-stuffed teddy bear?"

I smiled. "Yeah. Hazel's lucky. She has a good boyfriend."

He blushed and started stuttering. "She's not my- I'm not her-"

I laughed. "Kidding. But seriously, you guys are cute."

"I never expected you of all people to call me cute or adorable." His face slowly returned to it's normal color.

"Well, you're the only guy I would call that." I was surprised by how comfortable I was around Frank. He was easy to talk to and he never made me angry like the other guys.

The door opened again and a girl with her blonde hair in a ponytail and headphones on peeked in. "Come on."

She led us to two huge doors. "These'll open in sixty seconds." She quickly walked away.

I bounced on the balls of my feet as I waited. Frank stood absolutely still.

"You're nervous," he noticed.

"No I'm not," I lied.

"Yes you are."

"No. I'm just ADHD."

"The first step of not being nervous is accepting the fact that you are nervous." He was smiling.

"Fine. I'm nervous."

"It might help if you tell me why." This proved he was the only guy who couldn't make me angry. If this was anyone else I would be yelling my voice hoarse.

"The first time I was on the show was the first time I'd seen Luke after I woke up from my coma. I'd started yelling at him and it got so bad they didn't air that episode."

"Oh."

The doors opened.

"Sorry."

I sighed. "It's alright."

I put on a smile and walked out side by side with Frank.

-iii-

**We're sososososososososososo super duper sorry! We updated three days late! We had no time so we both apologize. Thanks for understanding.**

**SwimDanceMusicRead Jazz**

**TheGirlThereReading**


	6. s i x

Chapter 6

**Percy POV**

Since I was driving everyone I got to Piper's fashion show halfway through.

Piper was at the end of an outdoor runway, wearing a pink flowy top with leggings. Her pink combat boots stuck out. She almost tripped when she saw me.

When she had strutted past the curtain she ran towards me. "What are you doing here?" She whisper yelled.

"Um, I was bored. So I came here. You're okay with that right?" I asked. I didn't need her to be angry with me too.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Is Jason here?" I couldn't help but notice that she sounded just a tad hopeful.

"No," I told her. "I left him at Calypso's studio."

"Oh." She gestured to the crowd of little kids. At the front was a little girl with brown pigtails, hazel eyes and a tiara. A black sash across her chest stated in big pink letters **BIRTHDAY PRINCESS**. "Why don't you sit down with the kids. Make sure they don't get bored. We still have an hour to go."

"Okay," I told her.

I went and sat next to the birthday girl. She didn't notice me.

At first she was really excited that she wasn't even sitting down but eventually she sank into her seat. Her face turned from awe to boredom. "I don't like this anymore. Mommy! Mommy, tell them that go away, it's too much pink, I don't like it!"

A woman with the girl's eyes but blonde hair came running towards her daughter. "Bailey, honey, you know you do like it!"

Piper, Drew and Silena stood frozen on stage, unsure of what to do.

"No! Mommy, I don't like this! You're ruining my birthday! I never get what I want! God, you're so annoying!"

Bailey's mother looked around helplessly as her father slipped back into the house.

I got up and crouched in front of the girl so I was at her eye level. Honestly, I didn't know what I was doing. The mother looked offended as if I was in her space, which I technically was.

"Bailey, that's not fair," I told her.

She crossed her arms across her chest. "Who are you to criticize?"

"You're saying you don't get what you want. Have you ever thought of the people who live on the streets?"

She cocked her head, confused. "People live on the streets?"

"Millions of people don't have homes. And you're complaining that your birthday isn't going as planned? That's not fair. You should be happy with what you have. You have a good mom and dad, a roof over your head and food on the table. You shouldn't complain because you didn't get something you didn't want. My mom used to be so poor that she used to live on the streets. Then one day, my dad gave my mom a home and money. She got a job and later when I was born, she had enough money to support me and her. My dad left before I was born. Even after everything my dad had done to help her we still had barely enough money. And to make things worse, she was married to a jerk of a guy, Gabe. Apparently he used to be really nice but the moment they were married he became horrible. He disappeared a couple years later. By some miracle, she got a raise. She bought a bigger apartment and later got remarried to a much nicer guy, and now she's happier and became a writer after finishing school. My dad later came back and even though he no longer had anything to do with my mom he helped both of us. My mom had nothing you have and yet she was happy. You have everything but you're not happy. Is that fair?"

The girl no longer seemed annoyed. She looked at me silently.

"I don't like that," she whispered. "That's not fair for your mom. And- and she's not the only one? That- I feel bad." She turned to her mother. "I'm sorry mommy. I didn't mean to be mean. I just- I just wanted this birthday to be perfect. I- I'll be happy. For what I have."

"Oh, Bailey." Her mother wrapped her arms around her daughter. She met my eyes over Bailey's shoulder. _Thank you, _she mouthed.

I smiled and shrugged. Bailey pulled away and sat down. She sincerely enjoyed the rest of the show.

-iii-

Piper and her sisters came up to me after the show. She placed a wad of cash in my hand. "Mrs. Ranbir told me to give you that."

"What?"

"She apologizes for not being able to thank you herself but she had to leave. You really knocked some sense into Bailey. She actually enjoyed the rest of the show."

I shrugged. "No biggie."

Piper threw her arms around me. "We would haven't got any money if it wasn't for you."

Silena wrapped her arms around both of us. I looked up and saw Drew awkwardly picking at her pink leggings. I opened my arm towards her and she came forward.

The four of us stood there, hugging until I felt something wrap around my waist. I turned around to see Bailey. "Thank you," she whispered. She ran away towards her friends.

I smiled at the girls. "Come on. I'll drive you home."

Silena shook her head. "Oh, Drew and I can't. Mom said to meet her at _Aphrodite Co. _You can take Piper though. We'll be late if we drop her off too."

I looked at Piper. "Then I guess it's just me and you."

-iii-

Piper questioned me the moment we got in the car. "How do you know Annabeth?"

I slammed the door at Annabeth's name. "Hasn't she told you?"

"No. We just know that you guys used to date and then you cheated on her with Calypso and then you guys broke up and now she hates you."

I slammed my fists into the steering wheel. Piper jumped as the horn honked loudly. "I never dated Calypso! I just got marooned on her island and she helped me. I never loved Calypso like that. I was already in love with Annabeth." My voice softened at her name.

Piper leaned over, hand over mine. "You still love her, don't you?"

"But she hates so there really is no point."

Piper hesitated and then said, "You know, you're and amazing boyfriend. You're sweet, kind, adorable and totally better than Jason. I would totally date you if my best friend wasn't in love with you and you're already in love with her."

I looked at her. "She does?"

"Uh, no." Piper looked away, out the window.

We were silent for the rest of the ride home but it was a nice silence.

I didn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

-iii-

_"What the hell, Jason!" She pushed him aside, tears flooding down her face. She wiped them roughly aside. _

_Two days they were the happiest couple, but now, she was heartbroken. _

_"You're not listening to me! Gods, would you just listen!" Jason was getting impatient. He never understood girls. _

_She scoffed. "_Me _not listen to _you_? Oh, my gods." She put her hand to her head. "You're such a self-centered bastard. I'm sick of this shit. Okay? You promised me, no loopholes this time. Yet, you held an oath that you wouldn't be able to fulfill. Why am I not surprised?" By this time, she stood right in front of him and slapped his face. His hand held his face, while he looked at her in fear. _

_"Pipes, I just-" Jason started. _

_"You have no right to call me that. You've just proven that." Piper yelled. _

_"But, I just wanted-"_

_"Sometimes, Jase, what you want isn't always what you get." Piper shook her head in disdain. "I hope you learned your lesson this time, Jason Grace." _

_She took leave of him, but not before he pulled her back with her hand. _

_"Just know, Piper, I'm not going to be anywhere. I'll be waiting for you." He kissed her hand. _

_She pulled away, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach._

_"Then you're wasting your time. We're done. You'll regret ever playing me with my best friend. Just wait and see."_

-iii-

**Annabeth POV**

I was sitting in the dressing room, reading my script, when I could hear girlish screaming outside.

I stood up and looked through the window. My jaw dropped and I burst out laughing.

Luke Castellan was standing outside, swarmed by crazy fangirls that were waiting offset. He soon ran towards the actors and asked a question. One of the other actors pointed towards my window.

I turned away, and hurried to my seat. I opened up my script as if I was reading it the whole time.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." I called out.

Luke opened the door. "Hi, Annie." He put his hands in his pockets and looked almost _scared_.

"Hey Luke! What's up?" I questioned while standing up and stretching.

He shuffled his feet. "The guys and I need some inspiration, so we decided to hang out with a girl each."

My heart sank; Percy didn't choose me. Yet again.

After seeing my expression, he knowingly nodded.

"What?" I defended myself.

"You're so not over him, Annie. I know. I see that expression in my face every morning in the mirror."

"_Don't_, Luke." I clenched my sweaty palms on the table in front of me.

"Anyways, we chose the girl who wasn't completely angry with us, instead of with our, you know-" Luke changed the subject.

"Okay, I get it." I was a little impatient.

"Annabeth, tell me. It's not like I don't know the feeling." Luke gently urged me.

"It's just, you're right." I sighed, gesturing for him to sit down. He sat on the futon couch.

"Luke, before I left, I kissed him. And when I did, I realized that, that, I didn't want it to end. I had more feelings for him than I thought I did." I continued.

"I don't know what to do, because, he broke my heart, but he's also the one person I could trust." I choked down a sob.

"_He broke me. But I still love him. And that's just not fair._" The words echoed in my mind as I said them aloud. The tears streamed down my face, and this time I didn't stop them.

"WE'RE ON IN FIVE!" The megaphone bursted through my ears, starting up my adrenaline.

I wiped at my face, clearing any signs of crying. I drank water and splashed some in my face.

Luke stood at the door, waiting for me. I walked with him, his arm around me. No broken pieces of my heart astray. At least for him.

-iii-

**Piper POV**

By the time we got home, it was almost time for dinner.

"I'm gonna change. I'll be down by dinner, Pipes!" Percy said cheerfully, probably because it time for food.

A moment later, Luke and Annabeth walked in, laughing and talking loudly.

"Luke, I'm just going to wash up. I'll come sit with you at dinner!" She called, as she walked up the staircase.

After a few seconds, Luke and I walked towards each other.

"We need to talk!"

-iii-

So sorry about the kinda late update and super short chapter but with finals coming up its been kinda hard. We'll try next time!


	7. s e v e n

Chapter 7

**Jason POV**

When I entered Calypso's studio, she was already halfway through a class. There were five girls dressed in different colored leotards, copying Calypso's moves.

And they were good.

They had to be if they learnt from Calypso herself.

They were dancing to _Titanium _and all came to a stop when I came through the door.

Calypso turned the music of with her foot and walked over to me, breathlessly. "What- what're you doing here?"

The girls behind her snickered. "Is that Jason Grace? He looks _so _much better with photoshop," One of the girls said.

"Um, I was bored," I mumbled, blushing deeply.

"Now, now Jason," Another girl mocked. "Don't mumble. Calypso doesn't like mumblers."

But Calypso had heard me fine. "Fine. Sit and keep your mouth shut." That was the nicest any of the girls had been to me so far.

I sat on the floor, my back to the huge mirror, so I could see them dance.

"Okay girls, we're going to review a couple of old songs." They huddled in a group and the dispersed, going into their positions.

Calypso fiddled with the music before clicking play and getting into her spot.

Familiar music started playing and they started dancing. I couldn't quite place where I'd heard it before.

Then, Piper's voice rang throughout the studio.

_I threw a wish in the well_

_Don't ask me I'll never tell_

_I looked at you as it fell_

_And now you're in my way_

_I trade my soul for a wish_

_Pennies and dimes for a kiss_

_I wasn't looking for this_

_But now you're in my way_

_Your stare was holding_

_Ripped jeans_

_Skin was showing_

_Hot night_

_Wind was blowing_

_Where you think you're going baby?_

_Hey I just met you_

_And this is crazy_

_But here's my number_

_So call me maybe_

_It's hard to look right at you baby_

_But here's my number_

_So call me maybe_

Calypso smirked at me and that's kind of how the rest of the class went. Five girls and her smirking and dancing insanely well to all of Piper's songs.

Calypso must rant to the girls about us guys a lot.

-iii-

_Hazel cracked her knuckles nervously as she held the mic in her hand. she stood on a stage inside of a glass room. _

_On the other side of the glass sat Tristan McLean, good- looking as always, waiting patiently for the band to set up._

_She was auditioning for him with a live band. At least it was her song._

_Next to Tristan stood his daughter, Piper, along with Annabeth, Calypso and Thalia. They'd all been accepted by Tristan. _

_They seemed like nice people._

_Thalia caught her eye and flashed a thumbs up._

_Finally, after what seemed like hours, Tristan gestured for the music to start._

_The music the band played, though, was unrecognizable. Thalia seemed to notice that too and mouthed to her, _you're not doing Work of Art?

I am, _she said out loud. _

_Tristan seemed to notice something was wrong and sat up in his seat._

_The band didn't notice. They kept playing._

_The song had a nice beat though. No reason why she couldn't just play along._

I can make the rain stop if I wanna,

Just by my attitude.

I can take my laptop, record a snapshot,

And change a point-of-view.

I just entered this brand new world,

And I'm so open hearted.

I know I got a long way to go but I'm

I'm just getting started.

I'm over my head

And I know it, I know it.

I'm doing my best

Not to show it, to show it.

Whatever it takes to be,

What I was meant to be,

I'm gonna try.

Cause I'm living the dream

And I know it, I know it

I'm trying my best

Not to blow it, to blow it

And I know everything will be fine

With me, myself, and time (and time, and time, time...)

I go where life takes me,

But some days it makes me,

Wanna change my direction.

Sometimes it gets lonely,

But I know that it's only,

A matter of my perception.

I just entered this brand new world,

And I'm so open hearted.

I know I got a long way to go but I'm-

I'm just getting started.

I'm over my head

And I know it, I know it.

I'm doing my best

Not to show it, to show it.

Whatever it takes to be,

What I was meant to be,

I'm gonna try.

Cause I'm living the dream

And I know it, I know it

I'm trying my best

Not to blow it, to blow it

And I know everything will be fine

With me, myself, and time

And baby, there's nothing like this moment.

To just be real and let the truth be spoken.

Whatever's broke I can make it unbroken.

Turn the light in my head into something golden.

If I just try,

More love.

If I just try.

More love.

Then I'll find, myself, in time.

I'm over my head

And I know it, I know it.

I'm doing my best

Not to show it, to show it.

Whatever it takes to be,

What I was meant to be,

I'm gonna try.

I'm over my head

And I know it, I know it.

I'm doing my best

Not to show it, to show it.

Whatever it takes to be,

What I was meant to be,

I'm gonna try.

Cause I'm living the dream

And I know it, I know it

I'm trying my best

Not to blow it, to blow it

And I know everything will be fine

With me, myself, and time

I'll find, myself, in time.

I know, I'll find, myself, in time.

_She stopped singing, breathing heavily. She looked at Tristan but then cringed at his neutral expression. She'd failed. She should have kept her mouth shut. She was done for. Her music career was over before it had even started. She was-_

"_In! That was amazing. You made that up on the spot? Brilliant. I loved it. It would be an honor to produce your music!" Tristan had come onto the stage and given her a bear hug._

"_Wait, what?"_

_Thalia ran over and wrapped her arms around Hazel a bit too violently. "Oh my gods, that was the best! I told you you could do it!"_

_Hazel pulled back gently. "Thank you," she whispered, still in shock. "Thank you so, so much. You have no idea."_

"_It slips my mind how people would reject you. Your a very talented young lady, Hazel Levesque." Tristan smiled broadly and clapped her on the back._

"_Dad, you're embarrassing me!" Piper groaned, but she was still smiling._

_A woman came up from behind Tristan. She was short but thin and walked as if she were on air. She had round brown eyes and black hair cut in a bob. "How 'bout we let the girls go out for dinner. Get to know each other a bit. They're going to be seeing each other a lot if they have their music produced by the same person. And besides, I need to talk to Tristan about something."_

_Tristan smiled. "Of course! This is Mellie by the way. She's a wonderful assistant. I'd be lost without her."_

"_You would," Mellie laughed. "Now you girls go have fun."_

"_Wait, Hazel, who's your agent again? Like who's going to manage all the money and boring stuff like that?"_

"_Oh." She forgot about that part. "Um, it was my mother but she's currently, uh, dead."_

_Tristan's smile melted off his face. "Oh, dear, I'm terribly sorry, but if you don't have anyone else-"_

"_You can't sponsor me." Hazel finished quietly._

"_Oh, no, nothing like that. A beautiful voice like yours must be put to work. I can manage the money. I'm doing that for the other girls anyway. Do you have a home though? Like a place to stay for now, until you move in?"_

"_Oh, thank you but- wait. Move in?"  
_ "_Why yes. You'll be living in my house. The rest of the girls are too."_

"_Oh, no, I don't want to cause any trouble, I have an apartment it's-"_

"_Nonsense! You'll be living with us once all the paper work is complete. Now go have fun." Tristan laughed and walked away, talking to Mellie._

_Thalia threw an arm around my shoulder. "You heard him. Let's go have fun. I vote Burger King!"_

"_No, I like Taco Bell!" Calypso said._

"_I prefer Taco Bell," Piper stated. "I'm vegetarian." _

"_Well I'm with Thalia on this one." Annabeth shrugged then pumped her fist in the air. "Burger King!"_

_They all turned to Hazel. "What about you. You're the tie breaker."_

_Hazel shrugged, remembering her brother. "Well, I would've voted for McDonald's myself."_

_Piper laughed. "McDonald's it is!"_

_The five of them went around, asking people to take them and for once, Hazel felt something warm inside._

_Family- something she never really had._

-iii-

**Piper POV**

"We need to talk!" I hissed as I dragged him upstairs.

"Wha-huh-what?" Luke stuttered.

"We need to talk about Percy and Annabeth. Look, Percy still has feelings for her." I explained as we finally reached the Mirror Room.

"Percy broke her heart, but yes, I know he still has feelings for her." Luke sat at Annabeth's vanity.

There was a moment of silence.

"Well? What about Annabeth? Does she still have feelings for him, too?" I rolled my eyes.

_Boys_.

"Oh, right! Yeah, she does." He said it so casually I almost burst.

"Okay, well, if they like each other, they should date, _right_?" I gestured with my hands.

"Um, I guess?" His eyebrows furrowed.

"I can see one of the reasons your relationships don't go far..." I muttered under my breath.

"We need a plan to make them get back together, okay?" I explained to him my genius lovebird plan as I walked around the room. It helped being a daughter of Aphrodite sometimes.

"Ready?" I asked him nervously.

"Let's do this." Luke replied firmly.

We walked in opposite directions.

"Wait, LUKE! OTHER WAY!" I was heading to the boys' rooms. No _thank you. _

"Right. Sorry." He smiled crookedly as we walked past each other again.

Wow, boys can be so dumb.

**Thalia POV**

The voices murmured in my head, in my dreams as I tossed and turned. They grew louder, the more I tried to shut them out.

"_Thalia _Grace_, you are your mother's daughter. Don't try to fight it. You know it's true."_

The ghost of her mother appeared in my head.

"_Come to me, dearie! You are your mother's daughter. You are _my _daughter."_

She held out her hand, and I felt my whole body go spiraling towards darkness.

"_You are your mother's daughter… your mother's daughter… daughter…"_

I shot out of my half-asleep state. Tears streaked down my face, as I buried my head into the blanket on top of me.

This was the third time it had happened and I needed to stop thinking of her. I got up from under the covers and stepped into my fluffy slippers and rummaged for the closest sweatshirt.

After putting it on, I opened the door, as my feet dragged me into the hallway. I found myself walking through the dimly lit corridors, until I reached the Mirror Room.

I opened up the slide door that held my guitar and the hallway past it.

I went in, and sat in my music section, filled with half-written songs and guitar.

It was black, with silver strings and blue pegs. Across the board it had silver zig zags and blue lightning bolts.

My eyes roamed over it, but instead I decided to pick up my acoustic guitar.

I played a few chords before singing softly.

"_It's like, he doesn't hear a word I say_

_His mind is somewhere far away_

_And I don't know how to get there_

_It's like all he wants is to chill out_

_He makes me wanna pull all my hair out_

_Like he doesn't even care_

_You, me_

_We're face to face_

_But we don't see eye to eye_

_Like fire and rain _

_You can drive me insane_

_But I can't stay mad at you for anything_

_We're Venus and Mars _

_We're like different stars _

_You're the harmony to every song I sing_

_And I wouldn't change a thing_

But it didn't sound right, incomplete. I put my guitar back on its stand and sighed before getting up. Tears streaked down my face in frustration, as I tried to forget what was happening.

I walked out of the hallway leading into the Mirror Room. I pressed the button next to my vanity, and the door flipped slowly into a mirror.

My legs lead me out of the Mirror Room and into the next corridor with six rooms in it. I stepped towards the first room on the right, and my hands reached up to knock on their own accord.

I heard shuffling and noise. The clicking of the lock made me jump out of my skin. The door opened and my heart skipped a beat.

"Thalia? What are you doing here?" He asked me, utterly confused. As usual.

"Sor- sorry, wrong door." I said shakily.

"My name is _on _the door." He motioned to sticker.

That was it. I couldn't handle it any more. I broke into sobs and fell into him.

"Thals, what's wrong?" His hands hugged me around the back.

I hiccuped, barely able to make a sentence. "The voices - the voices, they came back." My voice was muffled into his chest.

He pulled me into his room, his arms still around me. I felt his heartbeat, steady but a little fast.

"They sa - said that I was my moth - mother's daughter. Is that true?" I spoke with fear. This wasn't me. I wasn't a crier. I didn't cry.

But he was the only one that knew the other side of me. The side I tried so desperately to hide.

"Thalia, look at me." He lifted up my chin. "You are not your mother's daughter. Trust me. You're stronger than her, you're better than her. You're also much more of an badass than her."

I laughed shakily before becoming solemn again. "But, what if being a badass gets me to be a bad person?"

"Thalia, that is the epitome of a lie. You could _never_ become a bad person. That's me, not you." He stiffened, as did I.

He pulled back, though I stayed in the same place. His brows furrowed as he looked at my sweatshirt. I looked down and blushed.

It was his track and field sweatshirt. _Castellan No. 7._

I bit my lip and stepped back.

"You kept that?" Luke asked softly.

"Yeah, it's warm." I said gently, looking into his whirling eyes before looking down.

"Thals, don't." He sounded strained and weak.

"Please, Luke." I pleaded with him, trying to get him to explain.

"Thalia, you'll get yourself hurt." He sounded too bland, and my heart flared with uncountable emotions.

"You're right. It's crazy for me to think that you would explain anything to me." I turned away before my tears could show.

"Come on, you know that's not what I meant." He pulled me towards him by grabbing me by my hand.

It was all too real. I shook off my hand.

"Luke, you're killing yourself by doing this. I'm not going to force you to say anything." My voice cracked with emotions.

"Thals-" He started.

"_Don't_, Luke. I'll see you at breakfast." I walked out, but he stopped me at the threshold.

"Thalia, I'm sorry. I just - I don't know _how _to explain to you." He sounded like he was about to cry.

"It's okay. You never needed to. But, thanks for the help with my mother."

"Let's start over," he pleaded. "We'll introduce ourselves." He held out his hand.

I looked at it, almost taking it, but held back. "No. It's too late for that.

I turned back as I left.

He stood there.

_The bus left._

He didn't even try.

_He was rooted to the spot. _

He never came back.

_He never came back._

**Sorry about the late update! The next chapter will be pretty short, because we have finals this upcoming week. Have a great weekend, guys. Review if you want to know what happened to Thaluke! We might give you a flashback soon enough!**

**TheGirlThereReading**

**SwimDanceMusicRead Jazz**


	8. e i g h t

Chapter 9

**Annabeth POV**

"Annabeth! Oh my gods you need to look at the constellations!" Piper dragged me outside onto a balcony near the Mirror Room.

"Why do I need to?" I asked her indifferent to her pushing.

"Because you'll love them. The stars are so bright tonight! It's so pretty!"

I sighed. "Fine, come on. We'll go look at them."

"Wait, I forgot to get my jacket! I'll be right back. You just wait outside." She pushed me past the door and locked it behind me.

I knocked on the door. "Piper, open up!" She had moved along the hallway by then, as I growled in anger at her.

I slumped down onto a bench on the paved path. Might as well sit and wait.

**Percy POV**

Fifteen minutes earlier, Luke told me we were going to throw water balloons off the balcony at the rest of the guys. Now he's locked me out and won't let me in.

I had heard voices and hid behind the door.

I listened but there the words all jumbled together. I walked around the balcony and realized it led to another one. There were chairs here too.

I sat down in one of them and heard a voice. "Percy?"

Her grey eyes met my green ones and I melted. For once she wasn't glaring at me. "Annabeth, I-"

But before I could finish my sentence, she had buried herself in my arms.

**Piper POV**

When I got to breakfast everyone was there except for Hazel and Thalia. Their new guitars had come today.

As if on cue, Hazel ran into the room, new guitar in hands. She played a bass riff and laughed maniacally. "It came! YES!" It was gold with gold pegs and a black fingering board. The gems on it was in an ombre from red to purple then the stones became smaller and smaller until it faded away and it was gold. She jumped up and down. "Come on, come on, come on! Let's go play!"

The boys stared at her for a second before resuming their breakfast.

"Hazel," Calypso said in between bites. "We're eating."

Hazel mumbled something and slumped into her seat, guitar in her arms. She played random chords that somehow fit together. Hazel was cool like that. She could make stuff up on the spot. Both music and excuses.

Thalia entered. Her sweatshirt was wrapped around her. The words track and field were scratched off and it looked like it was because of a knife, not washing and rewashing.

Wait. Thalia was never in track and field. She was in soccer.

When she sat in the only empty seat across from Luke I saw the name on her back.

Even though it was ripped off I could tell what it had said.

Castellan.

Luke visibly stiffened.

Thalia held out her hand towards him. "Oh, hello. I'm Thalia. No last name please. You must be new here."

Luke, relief passing over his face, shook her hand. "Hi Thalia. I'm Luke Castellan. Yes, I am new here."

"Uhh." Percy looked back and forth between the two. "Don't you two, like, know each other? You dated for a year."

Thalia cocked her head at Percy. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've never seen this man until today." She turned back to Luke. "I play electric for the Sirens."

"Really? I play electric for 5 Crazy Godlings." Luke smiled at her but there was something missing from that smile. Love.

Thalia swallowed a bite of her pancakes. "Looks like we're more similar than I thought." She smirked. "Cool."  
"Umm, Thals?" Hazel asked, setting down her guitar.  
Thalia looked at her.  
"You and Luke know each other. You hate each other."  
"No, I don't. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go play." Thalia stood and walked out of the room. Percy got up and quickly went behind her. "Thalia! Wait!"  
Once they disappeared we turned to Luke. "What's up?"  
Annabeth put down her fork. "No. Luke stop it. Stop whatever you're doing. You frickin' know Thalia Grace so don't-"  
"Don't call her that!" We all turned to Jason.  
Gods, why is he such a-  
"Why do you care?" Hazel asked cooly, propping her feet up on the table and tilting her chair on two legs. "You never cared about Thalia before?"

He opened his mouth as if her was going to say something but then thought better of it and shut his mouth.

"That's what I thought."

Luke got up. "I'll talk to you guys later. I got to go. I'm working my new single today."

"Ooh." Annabeth sat up in her chair. "What's it called?"

"I'm thinking Payphone." He left without another word.

Hazel looked at us. "So, what are we gonna do today?"

I shrugged. "I don't know about you guys but me and Percy are having a movie marathon."

"Then I know what I'm doing." Annabeth looked between both of us but she landed on Percy. "That's okay with you right?"

Percy nodded. "Sure."

I looked at them. Their eyes met and they both blushed. Something happened between them. Yes! It worked! I made eye contact with Leo and he raised his eyebrows at the pair. I laughed, getting everyone's attention except for the two lovebirds.

Percy and Annabeth both looked away. Percy got up, banging his knee on the table in the process, and said stuttering, "I- um- I'll be- I gotta go." He ran out mumbling to himself about his stupidity when he ran into the wall beside the door. He muttered and cursed and ran out, red in the face.

Annabeth giggled and shook her head knowingly.

Okay, this girl has got a lot to tell us. Annabeth Chase does not giggle.

Hazel seemed to have read my mind. "Boys out." Frank, Leo and Jason looked at her.

"But-" Jason started.

"Out."

"Gods, no need to be rude." Jason left, as I mimicked him rudely.

Leo and Frank got up and quickly walked out.

We leaned towards Annabeth as soon as they left. Calypso gave her a questioning look and Hazel wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Annabeth just continued eating, a faint blush still on her cheeks. She looked up and asked with her mouth full, "What?"

"Annabeth Chase, you're in loooove," Hazel mocked and giggled.

She sputtered while we all laughed at her almost purple face.

"No! That's not true. Percy and I are just friends." She smiled at his name and looked down into her plate.

"Friends with benefits?" I snickered.

"What? No. Pfshh. You must be kidding me?" She phrased it as a question.

Calypso chuckled and went over to Annabeth. "Annie, come on. We all know you guys had a history."

"And, Luke told me that you still have feelings for him." I blurted out. Everyone looked at her.

"Annabeth, is that true?" Calypso asked gently.

Annabeth sighed before glaring at me, and nodded very quickly. My smile broadened and I started bouncing in my chair, while the rest of the girls started squealing.

Those two are going to be together by the end of the marathon tonight, and I for one, am going to do anything to make sure of it.

-iii-

_ The song finished with a flourish, their noses almost touching. She couldn't stop herself from crying._

_ She pushed him away, lifting up her dress and ran to the girls' restroom. _

_ "Wait!" He shouted across the set, racing after her._

_ She pushed the door closed, before he could come in. Her face was streaked by her salty tears and running makeup. _

_ Her hands gripped the sink as she trembled, trying to contain herself. She couldn't believe that she actually fell for that stupid idiot, with his curly black hair and mischievous brown eyes. His jokes and games. But it was all a lie._

_ He knocked on the door. _

_ "Sunshine, you in there?" His gentle voice made her melt. She pinched herself and held her breath._

_ "Come on out, Callie. We're waiting for you!" He pleaded with her, but he sounded confused._

_ He left Calypso, for that girl, with the cold mistrusting eyes and black straight sheet of hair reaching her mid-back. The model, Khione. Calypso wasn't good enough for Leo. She asked him to wait for her, until she could get off the record label with her father, but he wasted no time to get those other girls. _

_ Calypso always believed in him, even when others didn't. He told her he always felt like a third wheel with Jason and PIper, but then she made him feel better when he was around her. When all the rumors were spread about him being a player, Calypso always just believed that he was the one being played instead. _

_ She believed in him when she shouldn't have and she lost herself to him._

_ The biggest mistake she could have ever made._

-iii-

**okay um its been a long time.**

**This story can no longer be finished by us so if anyone would like to know exactly what was going to happen, feel free to PM me. You can also PM if you want to adopt it too :)**

**Thanks for sticking around.**


End file.
